Vaccine Cold Storage Recommendations
Why choose our refrigerators for vaccines?
Specialized refrigeration protects vaccines from freezing
Forced air-cooling delivers uniform temperature on every shelf
Microprocessor controls maintain precise, consistent chamber temperatures
Clear control panel with alarms and remote-monitoring capability
Reserve cooling for rapid temperature recovery following door openings
Tolerance for high ambient temperature with efficient, CFC-free insulation
When a vaccine freezes, its effectiveness can be reduced or destroyed without visible warning, which may leave frozen vaccines unable to protect patients.1
In an effort to ensure vaccine quality at the end of the distribution cold chain, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published guidelines for best practices in vaccine storage.2, based on studies conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).3
Established in 2014, these vaccine cold storage guidelines identify the conditions that affect vaccine efficacy and storage integrity, including the following areas of focus:
- Must offer dedicated storage in a stand-alone refrigerator specifically designed to establish and maintain key performance parameters.
- Dormitory-style units should not be used under any circumstances. This type of refrigerator poses a significant risk of freezing a vaccine even when it is used for temporary storage. A NIST report showed that this type of unit demonstrated inconsistent temperature control, regardless of where the vaccine was located in the chamber. Within 2 weeks of use, median temperature of the refrigerator setpoint had drifted approximately 4°C lower, freezing the vaccines contained inside.4
- Must maintain accurate, uniform and repeatable storage temperature over a range of 2°C to 8°C. The PHC Corporation factory setpoint is 5°C.
- Must protect from freezing temperatures anywhere in the refrigerator. This is critical for storage of small vaccine doses that can freeze quickly.
- Must be monitored by a NIST calibrated thermometer, documented with a certificate of calibration. The CDC recommended uncertainty is +/- 0.5°C.
PHC Corporation of North America (PHCNA), headquartered in Wood Dale, IL, is a supplier of PHCbi life science laboratory solutions. PHCNA empowers scientific advancement by providing technologies that protect and support critical research. PHCbi solutions provided by PHCNA are trusted by researchers across the United States, Canada, and select countries in Latin America for their reliability and innovation.
PHCbi is a global leader in life science laboratory equipment, offering solutions that enhance every stage of the research workflow — from sample preservation to cell culture to regenerative medicine.
PHCNA is a proud subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE 6523), based in Tokyo, Japan — a global healthcare enterprise that develops, manufacturers, distributes, and services solutions across diabetes management, healthcare solutions, diagnostics and life sciences.
1 A 2012 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report revealed improper storage of some vaccines from the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program serving an estimated 40 million children through a national network.
2 NSF International (NSF) and The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention have assigned industry consultants comprised of leading refrigeration and freezer cabinet manufacturers, including PHC Corporation of North America, to establish vaccine storage guidelines with an emphasis on establishing criteria for storage refrigerators to protect refrigerated vaccines from freezing. These criteria will require that all vaccines be stored in refrigerators that meet performance standards currently offered by PHC.
4 U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2009).
Thermal analysis of refrigeration systems used for vaccine storage. Gaithersburg, MD: Chojnacky, M., Miller, W., Ripple, D., & Strouse, G. Retrieved from
http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=904574